


The Love of a Lopez

by MrToddWilkins



Series: The Empire of Liberty, and the tales thereof [9]
Category: Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Archie's Weird Mysteries (Cartoon)
Genre: Amicable Divorce, Archie and Midge are cousins, Charchie Friendship, Coming of Age, Driver’s Ed, F/M, Ginger Lopez the Ascended Extra, Good Clifford Blossom, Good Parent Fred Andrews, Good Penelope Blossom, Growing Up Together, Heterosexual Kevin Keller, Jewish Midge Klump, Jughead Jones is Not Asexual, Lodge is Hermione’s birth surname, Long, Moose isn’t a dumb guy here, No Hiram Lodge, Reboot, Skydiving, Step-siblings, Tina Patel is a Good Stepsis, Tina Patel the Ascended Extra, Veronica and Jughead are siblings, Veronica lives in Riverdale from the start, Young Archie Andrews, Young Love, character exploration, from middle school to adulthood, good Hermione Lodge, mention of the after effects of divorce, this is lighter than actual Riverdale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:27:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29910051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrToddWilkins/pseuds/MrToddWilkins
Summary: “Oh,great. Ginger and Archie are on another adventure.”“Of course.”
Relationships: Archie Andrews & Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews & Cheryl Blossom, Archie Andrews & Midge Klump, Archie Andrews & Tina Patel, Archie Andrews & Veronica Lodge, Archie Andrews/Ginger Lopez (Archie Comics), Cheryl Blossom/Kevin Keller, Chuck Clayton/Nancy Woods, Dilton Doiley/Bobbi Suarez, FP Jones II/Hermione Lodge, Fred Andrews & Ginger Lopez (Archie Comics), Fred Andrews/Eloise Patel, Jason Blossom/Avalon “Shrill” Prisston, Jughead Jones & Veronica Lodge, Mary Andrews/Hal Cooper, Midge Klump/Moose Mason, Polly Cooper/Reggie Mantle, Veronica Lodge/Frankie Valdez, bughead
Series: The Empire of Liberty, and the tales thereof [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009461
Comments: 1





	1. Epigraph

He asked her if she was afraid.

She smiled.

“No. I’m good.”

They were friends.

And then,one day,they were more.


	2. A description of Riverdale

Near where the ‘boot’ of the Huronian Peninsula kisses the shores of Mishigama is a land of quiet beauty, full of wildlife and woods. It enjoys all four seasons in due measure,lasting about three months each. By spring the wildflowers and poppies blossom,by summer the air is comfortably warm,by autumn the leaves form a veritable rainbow of natural colors,and by winter it’s cold but there’s never too much or too little snow. All kinds of flora and fauna are represented here,from the waterfowl to the golden eagles. Small wonder that people have lived in this land for ages. On the south side of the peninsula is River County,so named for the Lylley River that flows through it. The seat of the county is the town of Riverdale.

Owen Blossom founded Riverdale in 1862. Owen was a retired surveyor who had surveyed the Athabascan Territory in the 1840s and retired first to his native Pennsylvania,then to Ontario. He loved the rich earth and all that came from it,and desired to establish a town by the shores. The Lylley River he had named for his long-dead mother,Lylley Cotter Blossom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Huronian Peninsula is the OTL Ontario Peninsula.


	3. Archie’s earliest (real) memories

When Archie Andrews was two,his mother moved out of their house. He wondered why. His Dad told him “Mommy and I don’t love each other as much anymore. We’re still friends,but we’ve decided to move on. You’ll still live with me if you like.”

That year,Archie learned what the word “divorce” meant. His mummy and daddy weren’t married anymore due to their different life priorities. But they remained friends for many years thereafter. He spent occasional weekends with her and her new husband Hal. Through Hal he got to know his daughters Polly and Betty. Betty was his age, Polly 3 years older. They too were children of divorce,but that one had been nastier. Hal was grateful to be rid of his old wife Alice,now a Hollywood model. Betty was a pretty blonde girl,always up to some mischief and possessed of a bright giggle. Polly had red hair and was more serious. By the time he began kindergarten Archie was friends with both of them.


	4. Of Family and Friends

Archie’s grandfather,Chris Andrews,had had four children with his wife Bridget. Most had remained in Riverdale. First were Archie’s father Fred and Fred’s twin sister Eliza. Eliza had married Martin Klump,who came from Taronto,when she was in college. Before she graduated they had a daughter together. Her full name was Miriam Christine Klump,but everyone called her Midge. In point of fact,it was little Archie who could be blamed for that. One Christmas he’d proven unable to quite pronounce Miriam, so somehow he’d settled on Midge. After that Christmas it was what everybody she knew called her. 

One would expect a natural closeness between cousins,and as they reached school age Archie and Midge could often be found playing together. They both enjoyed Rock’em Sock’em Robots for one thing. They also liked playing LEGO games together whenever Midge came to visit Archie at his house on Green Street. He liked her black hair,which from an early age was cut short in a neat style. The neighbors were alright as well, the Lopezes on one side and the Woodses on the other. Between Midge,their other cousin Brigitte,their other _other_ cousin Cricket,Ginger Lopez,Nancy Woods,Betty Cooper,Cheryl Blossom,and little Veronica Lodge there was more or less always a girl in little Archie’s life.

Archie didn’t lack for male company either. The Kellers (with their little son Kevin) lived down the road,and the Claytons (their son’s name was Chuck) lived three blocks over. Chuck wanted to play baseball someday,as his father Anthony was the baseball coach at Riverdale High. There was little Dilton Doiley,Betty’s own second cousin,whose nose was always in a book. He wanted to go to Mars someday. And Reggie Mantle,whose family had just moved to Riverdale from a small town in rural Cimarron,was always playing pranks.


	5. Falling in Love Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 or 4 more short chapters before I get into the actual story.

A year after his divorce from Mary,Fred met an old friend while at a PTA meeting. Eloise Truman had been prom princess in their senior year of high school. After school,the pretty brunette had moved to Taronto,where she met software engineer Danial Patel. The two had married and had a daughter named Tina,and life seemed to be going well for them. But then Danial had died in a car accident that had also claimed the lives of two of his friends (but not the car’s driver).

Fred and Eloise entered into a whirlwind relationship. She moved into the old vacant house across from the Andrewses,and Tina became another of Archie’s playmates. The two happened to like the same kinds of computer games,and both played Little League sports at Riverdale Elementary. So they became fast friends,and Archie added to his social circle.

Fred and Eloise got engaged in early 2004,meaning that Tina would now also be Archie’s stepsister. Eloise and Tina moved into the Andrews house in July 2004,with Tina moving into the room next to Archie.


End file.
